HamGadgets News » ID-O-Matic

January 2012 HamGadgets News

Dale — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:34:32 +0000

Happy New Year! I hope 2011 was a good year for all of you, and I hope that 2012 will be even better. I want to thank every one of you for helping to make the past few years very interesting and enjoyable.

Looking back on 2011, it was a pretty good year for HamGadgets. The UKA-2 kit was retired and replaced by the UKA-3, which people seem to like. I was able to start offering custom cases for the PicoKeyer-Plus and UKA-2, thanks to the addition of a CNC machine to the workshop. There were a couple of firmware updates to the MK-1 and ID-O-Matic II, which continues to be a very popular kit. If there was a low point to the year, it would have to have been Dayton — but we’ll just leave that alone for now.

2012 will see some changes as well. I’m working on a couple of new projects that you will see announced as they get closer to being ready to offer as kits or assembled products. There will also be updates to some existing kits. The PK-RM chip is about to get a major overhaul, its first in several years, to being it up to date and more in line with the PicoKeyer-Plus’ features. I’ve been working on a new repeater controller for a while now, and I’m hoping to be able to offer that later in the year. It is my intent to offer a ready-to-go cabinet for every new kit added to the lineup — most people seem to like having that option.

And speaking of assembled products… I know that some folks really enjoy kit building, while others would prefer not to have to heat up the soldering iron. I simply do not have the time to assemble kits, except in very rare cases. But there is hope for those of you who don’t like soldering or no longer are able to. I do have a very small number of PK-Plus kits assembled and in the cases, and will list those on the web site in a few days. For ID-O-Matic II kits, there are two sources from whom you can buy completely assembled and tested boards. One is Radio Dan (www.radiodan.com); the other is W5TXR Labs (www.w5txrlabs.com).

We’ll be out of town for a week or so beginning the 14th of January. As usual you can place your orders at any time, and we’ll get them shipped as soon as possible when we return from our trip.

Again, I’d like to thank all of the people who helped to make 2011 a good year, and I hope I can continue to provide the kits and products you like for years to come. And remember — if you like your kit or your MK-1, please take a few minutes to let others know. If you don’t think it deserves a 5/5 rating, then please tell me and let me see if we can fix that. If you do think it’s better than sliced bread and Mom’s apple pie, a positive product review on the EHAM web site (www.eham.net/reviews) will reach a lot of hams — and it really helps me out as well, of course.

Thanks again and have a GREAT 2012!

73 de Dale, N0XAS

New ID-O-Matic II Manual – use it!!

Dale — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:41:18 +0000

Boy, did I ever screw up!!

I spent all that time updating the ID-O-Matic II manual. I added some features in firmware V3.3, like the fact that you can now specify a Morse character for the courtesy beep instead of just a single beep. I added a pin layout diagram for kit builders who aren’t familiar with how IC pins are numbered. I cleaned up the parts list to reflect the recent changes to some of the parts values. I made it bigger, faster, stronger… you get the idea.

Then I neglected to publish the new manual anywhere. It’s not on the CD, it wasn’t on the product page, it wasn’t on the manuals & documentation page. Duh!! OK, I fixed the web site, and I’ll fix the CDs as soon as the current batch is gone. In the mean time, here’s a link: http://www.hamgadgets.com/pdf/ID-O-Matic-II-20110404.pdf.

October HamGadgets News

Dale — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:46:57 +0000

Happy October!

It’s that time of year again — time to start getting your shack ready for the long winter operating season. Due to having had some house painters around with their really tall ladders, it’s looking like I may even be able to get a functioning antenna in the air this year!

I’ve sold the last of the UKA-2 kits, and the UKA-3 kits will be shipping later this month. I’m several weeks farther behind than I wanted to be on this project, but the results will be quite nice. If you’ve pre-ordered a UKA-3 kit, just hang in there — you’ll see it just as soon as I can get it out the door! But I think you’ll be very happy with the kit. The new aluminum cabinet is something I’m working especially hard to look great in your shack.

Many people has asked me over the past few years for assembled and tested ID-O-Matic II kits. While I simply do not have the time to devote to assembly, you can now find them for sale from one place that I know of. Radio Dan, W7RF is selling assembled and tested ID-O-Matic IIs on eBay: http://stores.ebay.com/radiodanw7rf. If you want the functionality of the ID-O-Matic II but don’t want to do the soldering, here’s your chance! Be sure to tell Dan where you heard about it.

Firmware version 1.32 is now available for the MasterKeyer. This is a bug fix release that resolves a couple of bugs involving embedded memory message commands. For keyboard speed demons, it also nearly doubles the size of the USB keyboard buffer to 150 characters. You can download the new firmware from the support page: http://www.hamgadgets.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=7.

Are you a US service member or family, serving overseas? I now have FREE standard shipping on orders shipped to all US APO/FPO addresses. This should show up automatically during checkout.

And finally — it’s my birthday month. Let’s just say I’m celebrating a double digit anniversary of my 40th birthday. This month I’ll give you the birthday present… how about a $10 discount on your HamGadgets order over $50! Just use coupon code OCTOBERBDAY during checkout. You can use this coupon code once per customer, between now and October 31, 2011. It’s good on everything except gift certificates and CW Touch Keyer products.

Have a great month!

73,
Dale – N0XAS

September HamGadgets News

Dale — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:32:58 +0000

Summer is drawing to a close, the kids are back in school, and the weather is cooling off. Time to put down some grass seed, finish up some yard projects and start planning for the winter’s ham radio activity!

There’s no better time than now to start thinking about your winter projects and operating. If you’re a kit builder, I’ve made the UKA-3 kit available on the web site and hope to be shipping by the end of this month. Pricing for a complete kit without enclosure is $24.00. If you plan to build it into your own gear or retrofit into an older tube amp or transmitter, you can order the kit without the power switch, LED indicators and connectors and knock that price down to $15.00. And, while I don’t have current pictures available on the web site, I’ll have a very nice extruded aluminum cabinet available with the end panels already CNC machined and ready for assembly. I currently have plenty of PicoKeyer-Plus and ID-O-Matic II kits in stock. I’m down to the last few UKA-2 kits. I’ve got a good stock of MK-1 keyers in stock, and I’m told there will be a review of the MK-1 in Radcom soon.

I have always felt that happy customers are the best advertising. If you’re a happy customer, I encourage you to tell your friends about HamGadgets. One way to do that is to spend a few minutes posting a product review on EHam.net. Of course if you’re less than 100% happy, I want to hear from you first! I try hard to make sure no one has unresolved problems with their HamGadgets kits and products. A couple of times I have seen, for example, a review of a PicoKeyer kit saying that the kit died after a couple of years’ use. Folks, if you don’t know it yet, you can forget the whole 1 year warranty thing. If your kit doesn’t work, tell me… we’ll get it fixed. I have never charged more than the cost of return postage to resolve a problem, even a user-induced problem.

MK-1 reviews on EHam: http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/8286
PicoKeyer reviews on EHAM: http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/3706
ID-O-Matic reviews on EHam: http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/4909
UKA / UKA-2 reviews on EHAM: http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/4198
HamGadgets thread on QRZ: http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?309309-HamGadgets-keyers-repeater-control
And the Reviews section on QRZ: http://forums.qrz.com/forumdisplay.php?17-Amateur-Radio-Equipment-Reviews

As I have (hopefully) a little more time this fall and winter, I hope to be able to work more on the project backlog. I need to finish the MK-1 firmware update, which will hopefully also include a fix for users with German keyboards (the Y/Z and ? keys are different). I’m still working on a new universal USB rig interface that I hope to have done soon. And of course I need to finish the manual for the UKA-3 and get to work on cabinets… OK, I’d better get to work now!

Thank you and 73,
Dale – NØXAS
www.HamGadgets.com

August HamGadgets News

Dale — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 16:55:13 +0000

Summer heat is upon us in full force… July was HOT here! The first few days of August have been quite warm and humid as well. Of course along with the usual summer activities there’s been a fair amount of development going on. I’ll try to be brief and recap the latest news.

I had planned to have the UKA-3 kits ready to go in August; it looks like it may be as late as mid to late September instead. I made a couple of component layout changes to optimize the layout of the cabinet as much as possible. Fortunately I believe I have a sufficient number of UKA-2 kits in stock to last until the new kits are available. I will, however, be making the new kit available for pre-orders very soon.

I have mentioned to some of you my plans to replace the ID-O-Matic II with a new kit. I’m pushing this back a few months. I have been working with the prototype, and it is apparent to me that I have some further development to do. This is a completely new and different approach, using a new chip, completely new firmware, USB interface, 3.3V logic and more. I’m currently reworking the I/O circuits for better and easier connectivity to a wide range of gear. I’m also adding a few new features that need hardware changes, and that hardware needs to be tested. Since I’m running low on ID-O-Matic II boards, I’ll be making one last run of those to last until the new kit is ready. I anticipate having the ID-O-Matic II available through the end of the year at least.

Firmware version 1.31 was released for the MK-1. I’m currently working on V1.32, a minor patch release that addresses a couple of bugs in memory playback. It’s not quite ready yet, but will be released some time over the next few weeks. In the mean time — if you have some unexplained memory playback issues with MK-1 memories using the /R command, or linking memories with a /B in one of them, you can email me for the Beta version.

I’m juggling all of this around family and work obligations, and that means an occasional delay shipping or in answering emails. OK, I’ll admit — frequent delays answering emails. I’m doing my best to keep up and hope to improve as I get some things settled down.

Have a good summer (or winter, for our friends “down under”)!

Thank you and 73,
Dale – NØXAS
www.HamGadgets.com

May HamGadgets News

Dale — Sat, 07 May 2011 13:52:16 +0000

It’s an incredibly busy month here! If you will be in Dayton for the 2011 Hamvention, please stop by and see us in booth 482. We’re right down the aisle between ARRL and Begali, not hard to find – and there are pretzels close by! We’ll have special Hamvention discounts, plenty of kits and MasterKeyers on hand, and a couple of new things to show off.

I’ve been working far too many hours the past few weeks. Yes, there is a nagging little problem with amp keying in the MK-1 firmware that I’ve been working on fixing. In addition, I’m in the middle of a new production run of MasterKeyers so we don’t run out during Dayton. I just received another run of PicoKeyer-Plus boards the other day, so now we need to start bagging kits – lots of them.

I will be posting a blog entry within a few days regarding the work I’ve been doing on the ID-O-Matic III, so you’ll need to wait a while for that news.

The newest addition to the shop is the new CNC milling machine! I’ve been assembling, adjusting and tuning this for the past couple of weeks, and last night produced the first “production” parts on it. Having this machine will allow me to offer cabinets pre-drilled and cut to fit the various kits. The first job will be drilling and counter-boring end panels for the PIcoKeyer-Plus kit. Soon you’ll be able to order the kit with a cabinet already drilled and ready to go. Over the coming months I will be re-designing other kits (starting with the UKA-2) to fit into enclosures custom made for them.

Until the next update… enjoy the beautiful weather, and we hope to see you in Dayton! If you’re in the EU, we may even see you in Friedrichshafen next month.

April HamGadgets News

Dale — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 21:42:50 +0000

The release of firmware version 1.30 for the MK-1 has been quite successful. There does, however, appear to be an issue with the AMP OUT signal when used with some contest loggers. I am working on that problem now, and will announce the fix once it’s available.

I recently began shipping new firmware for the ID-O-Matic II. Version 3.3 includes support for receiver audio muting, as well as a change to the courtesy tone. Now instead of a variable length tone, you can specify a single Morse character to use for the courtesy tone. I’ve also begun work on what I’m tentatively calling the ID-O-Matic III (that name may change), but will leave the details of that for later.

We are getting ready for our trip to Dayton next month! We’ll be in the same location as last year, BA482 just down the aisle from ARRL in one direction and Begali in the other direction. If you will be attending the Hamvention (http://www.hamvention.org) this year, please take the opportunity to stop by and say hello. We’ll have some specials going on during the show, and will probably have a couple of new product prototypes along. Given the rather hectic schedule around here for the next few weeks, I can’t say for sure what we will and won’t have ready to demo in Dayton. There is also a pretty good chance we’ll be at Ham Radio Friedrichshafen (http://www.hamradio-friedrichshafen.de/ham-en/) in June. More information on that as it becomes available.

If you are planning the purchase of a MasterKeyer, now is definitely the time. Due to increases in materials, parts and labor costs, I will have to raise the price of the MK-1 this month. I’ll hold off a little, but on Monday the 11th expect to see a higher price on the MK-1.

Now, if it will only warm up a little more we may be able to get the bikes (both motorized and non-motorized) out for some serious riding!

New ID-O-Matic Firmware and Manual

Dale — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 14:38:24 +0000

I have made some changes to the ID-O-Matic II manual. The new manual is dated 2/20/2011, and can be downloaded from the Documentation & Manuals page. Some of the changes include:

Added section to document receiver audio muting (supported in firmware 3.2)
Added section on reducing CWID audio levels
Minor component changes in new kits
Corrected schematic diagram
Added parts placement diagram
Updated troubleshooting section

I have been shipping kits with firmware version 3.2 for a couple of weeks now. The only change is a tweak to allow using one of the extra pads on the board for audio muting in setups where receiver audio in a repeater is taken from the discriminator. This enables a simple, 1-wire modification to mute receiver audio when the COR signal is not active. I’m also changing the de-emphasis circuit slightly in newer kits just to optimize the parts list.

The new manual will serve equally well for all kits running firmware 3.0 or higher, and using PCB revision B. Only the brief audio muting section does not apply to older kits. If you want to add audio muting to your existing ID-O-Matic II, a firmware upgrade to V3.2 will enable the modification.

Product News

Dale — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:07:15 +0000

I have a couple of projects in the works, trying to get them completed or at least in the prototyping stage before the end of the year…

Firmware 1.3 for the MK-1. I have been working on this for a while now. While there are no major new features, I am adding automatic call sign recognition and storage. The /L embedded message command will send the last call sign you sent from the paddles, instead of the last word as it does now. I’m also working on an issue involving using the MK-1 with Logger32.
I am working on a new USB rig interface. I’m working on the hardware design now, trying to balance features and cost. I’d give it a 90% chance this one will NOT be a kit, at least not in the traditional sense. It will have all of the features of the original USB Universal Rig Interface kit, but in a smaller form factor.
The ID-O-Matic II does a great job as a timer, beacon or fox controller, or a very basic repeater controller. It lacks more advanced features like remote control, voice ID, USB interface, etc. I’m working on that.

I’m happy to announce some new products in the HamGadgets web store! I have added some products from CW Touch Keyer, a purveyor of fine touch-sensitive paddles. The prices listed include drop shipment direct from the manufacturer to US locations — DX customers will need to email me for a shipping quote for the time being.

I met Sumner, WA1JOS at Dayton last May. After playing around with his paddles a bit, I was surprised at how much I liked them. They really are a joy to operate, especially if you like a “light” touch — it doesn’t get much lighter than this! There is no mechanical motion, no noise, and no adjustment. They operate just like any paddle would, just with a little less hassle.

ID-O-Matic II news

Dale — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 05:14:42 +0000

Well, folks, somehow I have managed to ship a dozen or so ID-O-Matic II orders with the wrong firmware in the chip. I spent some time today trying to figure out how I managed to burn a whole run of chips (fortunately far more than I have shipped) with firmware for the old board. I still can’t really explain it, but I have decided to end this problem once and for all. All new ID-O-Matic II kits will now be shipping with Version 3.10 firmware, which I finally took the time to test and verify. I have not updated the manual yet, but this will require only minor edits so the existing documentation should be fine for the time being. There are not a lot of changes from V3.0, but a couple of things may be interesting to folks:

You can have a leading space as part of a message. This was done so that you can have a slight delay between key-up and the ID message. A space by itself during setup will delete the message, but not a space followed by other characters.
The chip will ID whenever it is reset. This way you can force an ID and a fresh timing cycle whenever it’s needed using the RESET input.
One of the previously unused signals will follow the COR input, and is intended for audio muting in repeaters pulling audio from the receiver’s discriminator. I am working on a minor modification to mute the receiver audio in the ID-O-Matic, but have not tested it yet.

I am also beginning work on the ID-O-Matic’s replacement – but don’t hold your breath on that one. I still have enough ID-O-Matic II kits to meet the demand well into 2011. The new concept design is still very preliminary, currently consisting of nothing more than a rough hardware layout and a “wish list” for software features. All I can tell you for sure at this point is – it won’t be a kit.